How to renaming a lot of folders with a Windows batch file

Question

I need change a lot of folders with a batch script file..

I have those format of name folders:

• 2013.03.12.08.05.06_Debug_Test1
• 2013.03.12.08.04.09_Debug_Test2
• ...

I need change for this:

• 2013.12.03.08.05.06_Debug_Test1
• 2013.12.03.08.04.09_Debug_Test2

Invert the number 12 with the number 03

This is possible using a windows batch file?

Answer 1

@echo off
for /f "tokens=1,2,3*delims=." %%a in ('dir /b /ad "*.*.*.*") do if not %%b==%%c echo ren "%%a.%%b.%%c.%%d" "%%a-%%c.%%b.%%d"
for /f "tokens=1,2,3*delims=.-" %%a in ('dir /b /ad "*-*.*.*") do if not %%b==%%c echo ren "%%a-%%b.%%c.%%d" "%%a.%%b.%%c.%%d"

Should get you started.

The first FOR selects directories of the format *.*.*.* and renames them *-*.*.* with the 2nd and 3rd elements swapped.

The second renames the renamed directories to change the - to .

Consider directories 2013.03.12.08.05.06_Debug_Test1 and 2013.12.03.08.05.06_Debug_Test1 - attempting to rename the one will fail because the other exists, hence need to rename twice.

(I've assumed that '-' does not exist in your directorynames - you may wish to substitute some other character - #,@,$,q suggest themselves)

Note that I've simply ECHOed the rename. Since the second rename depends on the first, the second set wouldn't be produced until the echo is removed from the first after careful checking.

I'd suggest you create a sample subdirectory to test first, including such names as I've highlighted.

Answer 2

Using StringSolver, which requires a valid JRE installation and sbt, allows to use a semi-automatic version of move:

move 2013.03.12.08.05.06_Debug_Test1 2013.12.03.08.05.06_Debug_Test1

Then check the transformation:

move --explain

concatenates for all a>=0 (a 2-digit number from the substring starting at the a+1-th number ending at the end of the a+1-th AlphaNumeric token in first input + the substring starting at the 2*a+2-th token not containing 0-9a-zA-Z ending at the end of the a+3-th non-number in first input) + the first input starting at the 4th AlphaNumeric token.

which means that it decomposed the transformation by:

2013.12.03.08.05.06_Debug_Test1
AAAABBBBAABCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
where
A is "a 2-digit number from the substring starting at the a+1-th number ending at the end of the a+1-th AlphaNumeric token in first input"
B is "the substring starting at the 2*a+2-th token not containing 0-9a-zA-Z ending at the end of the a+3-th non-number in first input"
C is "the first input starting at the 4th AlphaNumeric token."

which corresponds to what you expected for folders of this type.

If you do not trust it, you can have a dry run:

move --test

which displays what the mapping would do on all folders.

Then perform the transformation for all folders using move --auto or the abbreviated command

move

Alternative

Using the Monitor.ps1 modified and run in Powershell -Sta, you can do it yourself in Windows like in this Youtube video.

DISCLAIMER: I am a co-author of this software developped for academic purposes.